Collection of the Wild Relatives of Crops 1997. : 3. The Azuki Bean (Vigna angularis var angularis) Genepool and Soybean (Glycine max) Genepool in the Kinki Region of Honshu, Japan 4-1 1^<th> November

Wild azuki beans (Vigna angularis var. nipponensis) was found in disturbed, open, habitats of rural areas throughout the region visited. This species is well adapted to riverside banks, herbaceous waste land and roadside verges. Population size varied from less than 10 plants to populations of several 100m^2. Four populations appeared be weedy V. angulalis and one population appeared to be a mixture of wild and weedy azuki. Two explanations for the origin of weedy azuki are that it is a hybrid between the wild and cultivated species (possibly the situation with collection no. 97069 and 97097) or that it is an escape from cultivation (possibly the situation with collection no. 97074 and 97091). Glycine soja was generally more abundant than Vigna angularis var nipponensis but was not common in the interior parts of Wakayama (和歌山) and Mie (三重) prefectures. In several sites Glycine soja and wild Vigna grew together, even growing up the same plant. Where the two species grew together Glycine soja was usually the more abundant the exception was collection site 58 (collection numbers 97095 and 96) where wild Vigna was the more abundant.A total of 36 seed samples were collected (Table below) in most cases herbarium specimens and root nodule samples were also collected. All collecting sites were located using a global positioning system and complete passport data was obtained. After seed increase, accessions will be preserved in the MAFF genebank. Herbarium specimens are deposited in the MAFF genbank herbarium